My first light tent experiment

[wingnut519]

Got myself a 80cm square light tent late last year but only got around to messing about with it the other day, took these as first few test shots.. What do you think.

First test shot to see who the lighting worked..


Got a little more creative...












It was a simple and cheap set up, the light tent was placed on the table with two old angle poise lamps at right angles either side shining in through the thin material, I am using 6400k SAD energy saving bulbs in the lamps rated at 30watts (140w equivalent in ordinary bulb rating), the whole thing cost roughly £25 to buy, tent and bulbs from ebay and lamps from local car boot.
For the first outing I'm pretty impressed..

[elysium]

Nice work. Have you got a pick of the setup itself? You lighting seems very alive and think its awesome.

[Dave.H]

Better catch that beer before it spills! Thats alcohol abuse!

On a serious note, I can't comment too much as I have no experience with light tents, but what did you use to get the black in the first photo? The reflection seems blury, but I like the concept.

Second photo doesn't do it for me. After reading "Lights science and magic" and seeing how they do glasses and bottles my standards were raised, but I don't think I could do any better.

I like 6 and 7, I think 6 would be really cool with a shallower depth of field.

I think they are all great for a first time though!

[jonnythan]

I really like the pics. Great lighting.

Something's not right with the first one, though. Maybe the exposure is too low. It just seems... dingy somehow.

I also think the DOF could be a little larger on the wine bottle. It'd be nice to see the whole label in focus.

[wingnut519]

Here's a rather crude image of the set up. Sorry it was taken on my mobile.



The tent came with 4 coloured back grounds, that just Velcro in place so easily changeable, only down side is they needed a bloody good ironing to get rid of the creases.

DaveH. - Yeah agree about the reflection, the oranges were placed on a piece of glass, not sure why the reflection is a little blurry. Will work on it though.
Don't panic I only lost a very tiny amount of beer, so no rear waste going on there.
Do you have an ebook link to that book you mention or is it only hard copy? I did have a real problem with the reflection in the glass so think it's an area i need work on.

Thinking about it now, i wonder whether taking the shots at night with no ambient light could have caused the bad reflection? Maybe taking it during the day could reduce that? Will have to do some more testing.

[Dave.H]

Its a hard copy. I found it recomended here and its just a fantastic book. I found it locally and read it cover to cover in no time. It takes a technical approach which I appriciate as thats how my mind works.

http://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-...9979379&sr=8-1

I mainly picked it up for portrait lighting but it has some great writing on glass, metal and other objects as well too.

I have been wanting to get a light tent, so take my comments with a grain of salt as I think yours turned out far better than mine will the first time. Like I said, I have no advice to give you other than how the pictures strike me.

[elysium]

Originally Posted by wingnut519

Here's a rather crude image of the set up. Sorry it was taken on my mobile.

Crude? I dont like the white balance, it is awful! Have you thougt about ditching the kit lens on the mobile and getting a 24-70 f/2.8L

Just kidding. Setup is far from ghetto and has worked well. Look forward to seeing more.

[flipstyle72]

i like... the first one though, the reflection of the oranges makes me think i'm seeing double at first.

Sam Adams photos look nice enough to be an ad.

[wingnut519]

No offence taken on the comments mate, still on a very long learning curve like everyone else. If we knew everything life would be boring. All comments good or bad are always welcome, sometimes bad comments are good as they push me to do better next time.

I will try and pick up a copy of that book, look like it will be a useful read.

[Dave.H]

Originally Posted by wingnut519

No offence taken on the comments mate, still on a very long learning curve like everyone else. If we knew everything life would be boring. All comments good or bad are always welcome, sometimes bad comments are good as they push me to do better next time.

I will try and pick up a copy of that book, look like it will be a useful read.

I hear ya. I think it drives my wife nuts that when I come home from work I start pulling out all the camera gear and experimenting. The last couple nights I took over the dining table. And your right, I was thinking about that today too, as soon as it becomes easy its no fun anymore...

[FlounderFX4]

I'm no expert on the subject at all but it looks to me like the second reflection is coming from the other side of the glass.

Not sure how you would go about fixing that but just my $0.02.

[wingnut519]

Originally Posted by FlounderFX4

I'm no expert on the subject at all but it looks to me like the second reflection is coming from the other side of the glass.

Not sure how you would go about fixing that but just my $0.02.

It could well be mate, wonder if lifting the glass off the base of the tent may help Anyone??

[jonnythan]

Maybe... don't use clear glass? Paint it glossy black?

[wingnut519]

Originally Posted by jonnythan

Maybe... don't use clear glass? Paint it glossy black?

WOuld be ok if I only wanted to shoot on a black background..

[Dave.H]

Originally Posted by wingnut519

WOuld be ok if I only wanted to shoot on a black background..

Maybe an assortment of acrylic bases?